Geena Davis (The Long Kiss Goodnight, The Fly, A League of Their Own) has landed the lead role in HBO’s upcoming true crime drama Dorothea. According to ScreenRant, Davis will portray convicted serial killer Dorothea Puente and serve as an executive producer on the series.
Inspired by true events, Dorothea centers on Puente, a Sacramento woman who operated a boarding house for vulnerable and struggling residents during the 1980s. While Puente presented herself as a caring and generous figure, she was later accused of killing several of her tenants and continuing to collect their Social Security benefits.
Puente avoided suspicion for many years before authorities ultimately uncovered human remains buried on the property of her boarding house. She was eventually convicted of three murders and remained in prison until her death in 2011 at 82 years old.
Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs, Graves, Woodstockers) will write and serve as showrunner on the series. Dorothea is based on a story by Michael Rosenbaum (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Smallville, Urban Legend) and Jane Whitney (Matter, Steel Broken, Bench Seat).
Davis, Stern, Rosenbaum, and Jeff Frost (California on Fire, Pluribus, Entangled) will executive produce the project, while Whitney serves as co-executive producer. Rosenbaum originally conceived the idea and brought it to Frost’s Bristol Circle Entertainment. Rosenbaum and Whitney then developed the project alongside Stern before Davis joined the series.
Dorothea marks Davis’ first starring television role since ABC’s political drama Commander in Chief, which ran from 2005 to 2006. The actress recently appeared in Netflix’s supernatural drama The Boroughs and is also set to appear in the upcoming films The Wrong Girls, starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight, Snow White and the Huntsmen, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and Seth Rogen (Superbad, The Studio, This Is the End), and The Kellys, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Last Action Hero, The 6th Day) and Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games, Independence Day: Resurgence, Most Dangerous Game).
Davis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Accidental Tourist. She later earned a Best Actress nomination for Thelma & Louise. Her other film credits include The Fly, Beetlejuice, and A League of Their Own.
A premiere date and additional casting details for Dorothea have not yet been announced.